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Peter decided that magic sucked sometimes.
When his dad had first introduced him to Doctor Strange and the world of sorcerers, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. He still thought it was cool, but the magic of it all had faded now — pun intended. It wasn’t because he was so used to it; in fact, he knew that he would never get used to seeing Doctor Strange and Wong perform magic. It was more so the fact that it had come back to bite him in the ass too many times now. As his dad liked to say, sometimes, it seemed like he had a giant ‘Kick me’ sign on his back.
Because Peter found himself standing in front of MIT, only it looked very different from how it had two weeks ago when he had a private tour. It looked more like what his dad had shown him photos of from his MIT days.
Which could only mean one thing.
The sorcerer that Peter had unfortunately come across had sent him back in time as some sort of revenge against his father — Evil Wizard’s words, not his. Why oh why was his luck so awful sometimes? He wasn’t even entirely sure what year he was in, but that was the least of his concerns. He had no idea how he was going to get back to his time. He really shouldn’t have gone on that walk, but he had been so desperate to get out of the Tower after being in the medbay for 3 days and on bedrest for another week, thanks to the cracked disc he’d garnered during patrol.
“Tones!” An all-too-familiar voice calling out broke Peter out of his thoughts, and he turned around to see where it was coming from, finding a younger version of his Uncle Rhodey running towards him. Well, that confirmed one thing at least — it was the back-end of the eighties. “Tony! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, man! Where have you-?”
Rhodey cut himself off as he came to a stop in front of Peter, mouth ajar as he gaped at him.
“You’re not Tony”, he mused, brows pulled together in confusion.
“Um”, Peter mumbled, wringing his hands together. “I’m Peter.”
“Hey, Peter”, Rhodey grinned, sticking his hand out to shake. “I’m James, nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too”, he replied, unsure of how to respond to that. He knew his uncle hadn’t gone by James in years, but then again, at this moment in time, everyone probably knew him as James instead of Rhodey.
“This is gonna sound so weird”, his uncle continued, scrutinising his face. “But you look exactly like my best friend. If I can find him, you’d see it.”
“Huh, really?” Peter half-smiled, trying to sound surprised. Rhodey said that a lot, as did everyone else who knew both him and his dad. People were always marvelling at how Peter was a carbon copy of Tony. “This is gonna sound even weirder than what you said, but, uh, what year is it?”
“Nineteen-eighty-six”, Rhodey replied with ease, staring at him. “What? You time-travel here or something?”
Peter didn’t say anything, pressing his lips together in a thin line and rocking back and forth on his heels, though he hoped his expression conveyed the message.
“What the fuck?” Rhodey exclaimed, eyes wide as he stared at him. “Are you serious? You’re actually a time-traveller? Can you prove it?”
“Uh, yeah”, Peter said, fumbling in his back pocket for his phone, pulling it out. “This is a smartphone; everyone has them in my time, it’s got a touch screen, and everything you could possibly need is in here.”
He double-tapped his screen to prove a point, watching as it lit up with a photo of the New York City skyline he took while out on patrol once.
“Holy crap”, Rhodey gaped, staring at the device in Peter’s hand like it was revolutionary technology, which — for the Rhodey of this time — it was. “This is insane. My best friend would love to meet you. Are you cool with coming back to our dorm with me for a bit? Let’s hope Tony’s there, he’s going to think this is amazing.”
“Well”, Peter shrugged, looking around the campus. “I’ve got nothing better to do until I figure out how to get back to my time.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Peter followed his uncle blindly, staring at his surroundings in awe as they walked across the campus grounds towards the dormitory. He was trying to commit every detail of what MIT looked like in the eighties to memory. Everything was almost the same; there were just certain things around the grounds that made it evident that he had gone back in time. He was so busy gawking that he hadn’t noticed that they were in the dorms and in front of his dad's and uncle’s dorm room.
“Here we are”, Rhodey grinned, pushing open the door and stepping inside, holding it open for Peter to follow. “Tony, man, here you are! Boy, do I have a treat for you!”
“Oh, yeah?” Tony smirked, looking up from the base plate he was fiddling with, Peter tilting his head, trying to figure out where he recognised it from. “Got something to do with my doppleganger you got following you like a lost puppy? Did you clone me, Honey Bear? ‘Cause A, that’s weird, and B, you figured out how to clone and didn’t tell me?”
“Geez, way to scare a guy off, Tones”, Rhodey grumbled, rolling his eyes and closing the door as soon as Peter was inside the room. “And no, I didn’t clone you. This is my new friend, Peter.”
“Ah”, Tony nodded once, setting down the screwdriver he was holding. “Nice to meet you, Peter.”
“DUM-E”, Peter blurted, realising where he recognised the base plate his dad was fiddling with from, slapping a hand over his mouth when Tony raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Sorry, I didn’t-I thought-It just came out, sorry.”
Tony’s brows furrowed as he looked back towards the base plate, scrutinising it for a moment before turning back to Peter, who chanced a glance at his uncle, only to cringe internally when Rhodey looked giddy, a massive grin on his face.
“How do you know that?” Tony questioned quietly, his eyes searching Peter’s face for an answer. “DUM-E’s barely left the Homberg basement; nobody aside from Platypus over here has seen him. Are you a mind-reader?”
“Um”, Peter paused, chewing his lower lip. “No, I’m not.”
“Even better, Tones.” Rhodey’s smile was so big that Peter was surprised his face wasn’t split in half. “He’s a time-traveller.”
Tony laughed, the sound echoing around the room, his shoulders shaking as he did so. He turned to look at Rhodey, only to pause when his best friend looked confused.
“Wait”, he said, looking between Peter and Rhodey. “You’re not joking?”
Peter shook his head, once again wringing his hands together. His dad should be telling him to stop, right about now. He would’ve pulled Peter into a hug and smoothed a hand down the back of his head, telling him to breathe and that there was nothing to worry about. Except, the Tony in front of him wasn’t his dad, not yet, at least. Not for another fifteen years.
“No, I’m not”, Rhodey hummed, jerking his head towards Peter. “Show him your smartphone, kid.”
“Uh, right”, Peter mumbled, once again pulling it out of his back pocket, though he actually handed it over to Tony this time. “It’s touchscreen, basically a mini computer, you can search anything up in there, and it’ll give you all the information you need.”
“Wow”, Tony whistled, studying the phone as if he was trying to absorb something just from looking at it, turning it over, baulking when he saw the logo. “Hang on, that’s the Stark Industries logo.”
“Yeah, um”, Peter paused when Rhodey rushed to his friend’s side, disbelieving as he stared at the logo on the back of the phone. “Stark Industries does that in my time.”
“Hm”, Tony murmured, handing the phone back to Peter. “Never thought Howard would step back from the military weapons.”
“He never did”, Peter bit his lip, unsure if he should be saying any of this, but Doctor Wizard can yell at him later, once he’s home. For now, Peter was annoyed enough at all sorcerers to ignore all the space-time continuum crap. “You did. You also pioneered a lot of medical equipment and some of the best green energy.”
Rhodey nudged Tony, grinning down at him. Peter forgot that his dad was his age in eighty-six, and that his uncle was, of course, going to be much taller.
“See, Tones”, he smiled. “What have I been telling you? You’re destined to do good.”
Tony grunted, seemingly still processing the information.
“You’re my hero, you know?” Peter decided to say, looking directly at his dad. “I’ve always looked up to you, always wanted to be just like you, for as long as I can remember.”
“Aw, how sweet”, Rhodey teased, smiling at his friend, whose brow was still furrowed in confusion. “You’re that big of a celebrity in the future.”
“Am I really someone to look up to in the future?” Tony asked, and wow, if Peter didn’t understand now what his uncle meant by him being a carbon copy of his father, down to their micro-expressions.
“You’re the best”, Peter whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat. This Tony hadn’t had years to heal from the damage Howard had done, even future Tony still doubted himself sometimes, but there was just something so painfully insecure about his dad right now. Peter wished he could reach out and hug him, and maybe find his grandfather and give him a nice, solid smack to the face.
A sudden flash of light interrupted the silence in the room, Peter jumping back with a yelp as his dad, in all his dad glory, materialised in the middle of the room.
“Anthony Peter Stark!” Tony’s older voice boomed as the light faded from around him, and Peter cringed at how scared and angry his dad sounded.
“Hey, man”, Rhodey frowned, stepping between younger Tony and older Tony. “I don’t know what problem you have with my best friend, but we can sort it out by talking like adults; there’s no need to yell.”
Older Tony blinked, only then realising where he was, and he stared for a moment at his younger self and best friend, eyes darting around the room, looking for Peter, who pressed his lips together.
“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to your friend, Honey Bear”, older Tony sighed, seeing the base plate on the floor and grinning at it, momentarily distracted. “Hey, that’s DUM-E’s base plate.”
“How did you know Tony calls me ‘Honey Bear’?” Rhodey questioned warily, eyes squinted as he glared at the older man who had literally materialised out of thin air in his dorm room, younger Tony raising a brow from behind him.
“Hang on, let me just try the whole angry thing again for a moment”, older Tony murmured, taking a deep breath. “Anthony Peter Stark Junior! Do you have any idea how terrified I’ve been? You told me you were going for a walk. A walk, Peter! And then I find out you’ve been sent back in time? What on Earth, Roo?”
“I’m so sorry, Dad!” Peter cried, clenching and unclenching his hands repeatedly.
“Junior?” Rhodey gaped.
“Dad?!” Younger Tony practically yelped from behind him, now openly staring at the father-son duo in front of them.
“Shit, Tones”, Rhodey breathed, the puzzle pieces clicking in his head. “No wonder the kid looks so much like you, he’s yours. Wait, does that mean you knew who I was all this time, too?”
“Yes”, Peter nodded, eyebrows pulled together. “You have no idea how hard it was not to call you Uncle Rhodey.”
“I’m an uncle?” Rhodey breathed, looking at older Tony with a huge smile. “You look old, Tones.”
Peter’s dad snorted, shaking his head slightly at the comment, and Peter grinned to himself; the forty-something-odd years between them didn’t change their friendship at all.
“Trust me, Platypus”, his dad grinned. “In my time, you look older than me.”
“Glad to know having a kid didn’t change your snark at all.”
“Best thing that ever happened to me, though”, older Tony smiled, pulling Peter into his side. “Even with all the grey hairs he’s given me. Imagine how I felt when my son didn’t come back from his walk, only to learn he had time-travelled, and not by his own will.”
“I’m a father?” Younger Tony was still reeling from the fact that he was staring at his future self and son in the middle of his dorm room.
“The best one”, Peter confirmed, smiling at him first, then at his dad. “You’re nothing like Howard, I promise.”
“Gee, kiddo”, older Tony whispered, leaning down to press a kiss into his hair. “Thank you.”
“Wait”, the younger Tony paused, furrowing his brow. “Wouldn’t you two telling us all this stuff mess with the space-time continuum?”
“Thought you might say that”, older Tony hummed, pulling something out of his pocket. “Which is why I tweaked my machine a bit. As soon as Peter and I are gone, you’re going to forget everything that happened today. I know it sucks, but things have got to keep going as they were before Pete was sent back here. You know it’s for the best.”
“Yeah”, Rhodey sighed, looking at the arm Tony still had around Peter’s shoulders. “I know. But just so you know, Tones, being a dad looks great on you.”
“Thank you”, Tony smiled softly, eyes wistful. “And just so you know, you love being an uncle, and you keep trying to steal my kid from me.”
“That sounds like Rhodey to me”, younger Tony grumbled, though there was a teasing smile on his face. “You guys should probably head back before you permanently alter the timeline.”
Peter’s dad just nodded, a small smile on his face, watching as his younger self smiled back.
“This was so cool”, Peter said, eyes bright. “Seeing a younger Dad and Uncle Rhodey was awesome. I can’t wait to tell my Uncle Rhodey what happened.”
“I’m sure I’ll be glad to hear it, kid”, Rhodey nodded, winking at Peter.
“Thank you”, older Tony spoke softly, his thumb hovering over the button he needed to press. “For taking care of him.”
“Anytime”, both Rhodey and younger Tony replied, right as Peter felt a jerk in his body, and they were suddenly back in the future. Or was it present? He was so confused now.
“Welcome back, Boss”, FRIDAY chirped, her voice comforting Peter like a warm blanket. “Shall I inform Mrs Boss that you’ve found Peter and that you’re back, safe and sound?”
“Yes, Fri, thanks sweetheart”, Tony sighed, turning towards Peter and putting both his hands on his shoulders. “Jeez, Roo, you know you scared the crap out of me, right?”
“I know, Dad”, Peter responded, a small frown on his face. “I’m really sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault, bud.” Tony shook his head, reaching up with his right hand to ruffle Peter’s hair. “I just nearly had a heart attack when the Wizard came rushing in telling me that an ‘evil sorcerer’ — his words, not mine — had sent you back in time.”
“It was pretty cool meeting you and Uncle Rhodey, though”, Peter beamed, eyes sparkling.
“Only you would find that whole experience cool”, Tony snorted, rolling his eyes. “You and your giant ‘Kick me’ sign.”
“I meant what I said, Dad”, Peter hummed, hugging Tony around the middle, tight. “You’re nothing like Howard; you’re the best. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Pete”, Tony whispered back, hugging his son just as tight.
Boy, did Peter have a lot to tell his uncle at dinner tonight.